According to Professor Stevelly, of Belfast, the rationale of their appearance on such occasions seems to be that, on the sudden formation and descent of the first drops, the air expanding and rushing into the void spaces, robs the succeeding drops of their caloric so effectually as to send them to the earth frozen into ice-balls.

These descriptions, it will be observed, apply exclusively to the southern regions on the east and west of Ceylon; and, in many particulars, they are inapplicable to the northern portions of the island.  At Trincomalie, the climate bears a general resemblance to that of the Indian peninsula south of Madras:  showers are frequent, but light, and the rain throughout the year does not exceed forty inches.  With moist winds and plentiful dew, this sustains a vigorous vegetation near the coast; but in the interior it would be insufficient for the culture of grain, were not the water husbanded in tanks; and, for this reason, the bulk of the population are settled along the banks of the great rivers.

The temperature of this part of Ceylon follows the course of the sun, and ranges from a minimum of 70 deg. in December and January, to a maximum of 94 deg. in May and June; but the heat is rendered tolerable at all seasons by the steadiness of the land and sea breezes.[1]

[Footnote 1:  The following facts regarding the climate of Trincomalie have been, arranged from elaborate returns furnished by Mr. Higgs, the master-attendant of the port, and published under the authority of the meteorological department of the Board of Trade:—­

Trincomalie.

|Extreme
|Mean        |Mean         |Range    |Highest    |Days
1854 |Maximum     |Minimum      |for the  |Temperature|of
|Temperature |Temperature  |Month    |Noted      |Rain
Jan. |  81.3 deg.     | 74.7 deg.       | 14 deg.     | 83        | 10
Feb. |  83.8      | 75.8        | 14      | 86        |  7
Mar. |  85.9      | 76.1        | 16      | 88        |  3
April|  89.6      | 78.9        | 16      | 92        |  3
May  |  89.1      | 79.3        | 19      | 93        |  3
June |  90.0      | 79.5        | 19      | 94        |  3
July |  87.7      | 77.7        | 16      | 90        |  5
Aug. |  87.9      | 77.4        | 16      | 91        |  4
Sept.|  89.3      | 77.8        | 18      | 93        |  2
Oct. |  85.2      | 75.8        | 15      | 89        | 14
Nov. |  81.O      | 74.9        | 11      | 83        | 15
Dec. |  80.1      | 74.3        | 11      | 82        | 15
Mean temperature for the year 81.4.]

In the extreme north of the island, the peninsula of Jaffna, and the vast plains of Neura-kalawa and the Wanny, form a third climatic division, which, from the geological structure and peculiar configuration of the district, differs essentially from the rest of Ceylon.  This region, which is destitute of mountains, is undulating in a very slight degree; the dry and parching north-east wind desiccates the